The Brighton Boys with the Submarine Fleet

The Brighton Boys with the
Submarine Fleet

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Brighton Boys with the
Submarine Fleet
by James R. Driscoll This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at
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Title: The Brighton Boys with the Submarine Fleet
Author: James R. Driscoll
Release Date: July 19, 2004 [EBook #12939]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH THE
SUBMARINE FLEET ***

Produced by Jim Ludwig

THE BRIGHTON BOYS WITH THE SUBMARINE FLEET by
Lieutenant James R. Driscoll

CONTENTS

CHAPTERS

I. Good-by, Brighton II. Down in a Submarine III. Sealed Orders IV.
Somewhere in the North Sea V. The German Raiders VI. Rammed by a
Destroyer VII. In a Mine Field VIII. A Rescue IX. Vive La France! X.
Attacked from the Sky XI. In the Fog XII. Yankee Camouflage XIII.
The Survivors XIV. On the Bottom of the Sea XV. The Human
Torpedo XVI. In the Wireless Station XVII. Up from the Depths XVIII.
In the Rat's Nest XIX. Capturing a U-Boat XX. The Mother Ship XXI.
Trapped XXII. Yankee Ingenuity XXIII. Out of the Net XXIV. Into
Zeebrugge XXV. Chlorine Gas XXVI. The Stars and Stripes

CHAPTER I
GOOD-BY, BRIGHTON
"Wanted: young men to enlist in Uncle Sam's submarine fleet for
service in European waters."
The magic words stood out in bold type from the newspaper that Jack
Hammond held spread out over his knees. Underneath the caption ran a
detailed statement setting forth the desire of the United States
Government to recruit at once a great force of young Americans to man
the undersea ships that were to be sent abroad for service against
Germany.
Stirred by the appeal, Jack snatched the paper closer and read every
word of the advertisement, his eyes dancing with interest.
"Your country needs you now!" it ran; and further on:
"The only way to win the war is to carry it right home to the foe!"
Below, in more of the bold type, it concluded:
"Don't delay a moment---while you hesitate your country waits!"
From beginning to end Jack read the appeal again. Before his eyes in
fancy flashed the picture of a long, lithe steel vessel skimming the
ocean, captain and crew on the lookout for the enemy, the Stars and

Stripes flapping from the tailrail. For an instant he imagined himself a
member of the crew, gazing through the periscope at a giant German
battleship---yes, firing a torpedo that leaped away to find its mark
against the gray steel hull of the foe!
Up in the dormitories some chap was nimbly fingering "Dixie" on the
mandolin. The strains came down to the youth on the campus through
the giant oak trees that half obscured the facade of "old Brighton." Over
on the athletic field a bunch of freshmen "rookies" of the school
battalion were being put through the manual of arms by an instructor.
Jack could hear the command: "Present arms!"
"I guess that means me," he said to himself. And why not? Hadn't Joe
Little and Harry Corwin and Jimmy Hill left school to join the aviation
service? Weren't Jed Flarris and Phil Martin and a bunch of Brighton
boys in Uncle Sam's navy? And hadn't Herb Whitcomb and Roy Flynn
made history in the first-line trenches? Yes, the boys of Brighton were
doing their bit.
In another moment Jack had crushed the newspaper into his
pocket---his decision made---jumped from the bench under the old oak
tree and was speeding across the campus in the direction of the main
dormitory entrance. Without waiting for the elevator he leaped the steps,
three at a time, running up to the third floor, and thence down the
corridor to No. 63---his "home," and that of his chum, Ted Wainwright.
Out of breath, he hurled himself into the room. Ted was crouched over
the study table, algebra in front of him, cramming for an examination.
"There you are! Hip, hurrah!" Jack cried excitedly, thrusting the folded
newspaper under Ted's eyes and pointing to the bold typed appeal for
recruits, all the while keeping up a running fire of chatter.
Ted was in the midst of a tantalizing equation. He was accustomed,
however, to such invasions on the part of his chum, the two having
lived together now for nearly three school years---ever since they had
come to Brighton.

Both boys were completing their junior year in the select little school
for which the town of Winchester was famous. They lived at remote
corners of the state and had met during the first week of their freshman
year.